21. Cody

TWENTY-ONE

Nope.

Little Button was right.

I most definitely didn't know what had hit me.

Didn't know what the hell had come over me.

Getting close to people when I'd sworn I'd never do it. But there didn't seem to be any choice in the matter when it came to Hailey and Madison.

Hell, to Lolly, too.

It struck me like an arrow when Hailey finally stepped out her front door twenty minutes later, wearing tight jeans and worn cowgirl boots and a coral-colored top that scooped way down low on her chest.

A mass of blonde hair twisted into a long braid with those locks of honey and maple weaved through it. Thick and heavy and perfect for fisting.

Lashes long and lips pouty and those eyes both wary and intense as she ambled down the steps and took the walkway to where I'd pulled my truck up to the curb. It was sitting in the exact same spot as it'd been on Saturday night though facing the opposite direction.

She slowed the closer she came, brow furrowing in speculation. "You don't have to drive me to work, too, Cody. This is ridiculous."

I was leaned back against the front side-panel, a boot kicked up on the tire and my hands shoved into the pockets of my jeans. "I don't find a thing about it ridiculous."

Air heaved from her nose, and she glanced around, no doubt checking for the bastard I itched to hunt down.

It had taken every ounce of willpower I possessed to play it cool last night. To stop myself from demanding a name so I could track him down and put an end to any bullshit he might think of bringing to her door.

Since I doubted much that she'd be too happy if I made good on it, I figured standing as a barrier in front of that door would have to suffice.

Frustration heaved from her lungs. "I'm not weak, Cody."

"Never implied you were."

"Yet you think you need to sleep on my couch and drive me to work."

A wave of protectiveness swelled. "It's not what I think of you, Hailey, it's what I instantly knew of him. One look and I knew that fucker would gladly hurt you if you didn't cave to what he wanted. And there you stood, brave and refusing to give, even though I knew you were afraid. Afraid of who he is and what he's capable of."

Part of me wanted to press her for the details. Demand to know what he'd done to put that look on her face. The other part wasn't sure I could hear the atrocities and remain a sane man.

Besides, I sensed she was shuttering.

Keeping a piece of herself veiled.

But I needed to get there. To that place where she could trust me with her demons.

Let me hold them.

Fully.

"So no, I don't think you're weak," I continued. "I think you're in a bad position brought on by a creep who will force you into what he wants if given the opportunity. I'm simply not allowing him that opportunity."

I crossed my arms over my chest.

A war went down in her brain, curling through the depths of those crystalline eyes, and her head slowly shook as she whispered, "I keep trying to warn you that he's trouble, Cody."

That was what was fucking me up. The way she went cold when she said it.

Dread slithering like ice beneath the surface of her skin.

A secret she held that she wasn't quite ready to let go of.

"Without a doubt. But you're worth that trouble, Hailey. I thought we already established that?"

Emotion flooded her face, her reserves dropping to show off this well of goodness.

I'd recognized it then.

I was even more sure of it now.

"And what if you're worth it to me?" she asked. "What if I don't want you involved because I don't trust the lengths he would go if someone got between him and me? What if I don't want to see you hurt?"

Pushing from the truck, I took the single step that separated us and moved into her space.

Severity throbbed, a thrash of that energy that compelled.

Girl a magnet that I kept trying to resist.

I set a palm on the side of her striking face, letting her warmth glide through me.

"I'm already there, Hailey, between you and him. Use me up. I'll be your shield. Until you figure out how to deal with this guy, I'll be right here, and we'll let him think you've already moved on."

With me.

Fuck. Right then, I wished it could really be that way. That I could give it all when I'd already given it away.

Because what kind of person would I be if I asked her to go from one monster to another?

I watched her struggle, unsure if she wanted to argue or agree.

My thumb brushed the plump angle of her cheek, and that feeling swept through me.

A whisper.

Old and familiar and somehow distant.

"I remember the evening I left. I couldn't stop from going to you, Hailey. I saw how sad you were. I wanted to wrap you up and make it better. Kiss away your pain. But I couldn't. I wasn't worthy. I was lost to my own bullshit, caught up in my life, so I turned my back. I won't make that mistake again." The words were hoarse when I released them.

She gasped at my words, and I could feel the shock roll through her.

Neither of us had mentioned it. I guessed both of us had spent the rest of our lives pretending that time didn't exist.

Tiptoeing around the past.

It was time we brought it to the forefront.

Blue eyes flicked all over my face like she was looking for a lie only it was her truth that came riding out. "And I was the fool who wanted you to."

I got lost there for a beat. How sweet she'd been. The way she'd made me feel something different for the first time.

Like maybe I wanted?—

I cleared the memories before I got lost in them and slanted my regard back toward the house.

To what was important right then.

"Are they going to be okay here? Not sure I like the idea of leaving Maddie and Lolly alone."

Indecision curled through her features, long lashes dipping with the turmoil before she seemed to settle.

"I honestly think he'll try to get what he wants through me first."

"But what better way than using Maddie against you?"

Regret pulsed through her demeanor. "I think he thinks Maddie sees him as some kind of hero, and he won't want to taint that if he doesn't have to, even though I know her little soul knows."

She glanced back at the house, sorrow in her voice. "I've seen it. Her fear. Like she sees deeper than the surface."

She turned back to me. "I hate that I exposed her to that."

"You're doing the best you can, Hailey, and you being here? Making the change? Being brave enough to leave that bastard to give you and her a better life? That's what counts."

"I just want to be a good mother. Give her peace and safety and the knowledge that she is safe."

And my hand was still there on her sweet face, my heart stuck like glue in my damned throat, every oath I'd made to myself going haywire.

Getting crossed.

My voice deepened. "There is no chance you could be anything other than a good mother, Hailey. I've seen it, and I promise you that little girl knows how much you love her. I've never seen so much joy shining out from a child than it does in her. Makes my own heart burst every damned time I look at her. And she's going to be safe. You and I are going to make sure of that."

"Cody." My name was a breath.

Before I got stuck in it, I cleared my throat. "Come on, let's get you to work."

Her nod was shaky. "Yeah."

I set my hand on the small of her back and led her around the front of the truck to the passenger side. Fire stroked through my insides, guts a tangle of greed, that little connection nearly too much to take.

Fuck.

I wanted her.

Wanted her in a way I didn't think I'd ever wanted anyone in all my life. It was a terrifying, unsettling fact, but one I was going to have to learn to deal with.

I opened her door and helped her in. "Fuck me, Shortcake, those jeans should be illegal, too."

I cracked the tease because I didn't want her to spend the day washed in dread. Besides, her glorious ass was in my face and my mind was treading to alternate things.

She popped onto the seat, and the smallest smile kissed the edge of her mouth when she reached out and grabbed her buckle and pulled it across her body. She exaggerated the action to prove she was fully capable of doing it herself. "What, you think all my clothes should be illegal?"

I pushed in closer and took her by the chin. "That's right. I'd much prefer if you weren't wearing anything at all. You should have seen the way I wanted to burn that little number you came waltzing out in this morning. Trying to drive a man straight out of his mind."

A rush of air escaped Hailey's lips, though this time it was needy.

Hot and pulsing between us.

Fuck, I had the urge to kiss her.

That should be my warning right there because kissing was something I didn't do.

Never had.

That intimacy something I didn't give into. Funny, I'd wanted to kiss her then and that unfortunate fact still remained true. She was the one person who'd ever made me contemplate it before.

Look where that had gotten me.

Still, there I was, playing a dangerous game, some kind of twisted Russian Roulette.

I stepped away before I got lost in it, shut her door, then hustled around the front and jumped into the driver's side. I pushed the button for the ignition.

I could feel the depth of those blue eyes washing over me.

Devouring me from the side.

My spirit fisted, and I reached out and squeezed her hand. "I'm going to protect you, Hailey. You and Maddie. I won't let that bastard get near you. Whatever it takes. I promise you that."

I'd end him before he ever got the chance.